Playing a little closer to home seemed to help the St. Thomas hockey team after a rocky Division I debut, but the Tommies fell to second-ranked St. Cloud State for the second consecutive night, 2-0 at Xcel Energy Center in the finale of their season-opening series. Zach Okabe and Micah Miller scored for the Huskies, with Okabe's goal coming on a first-period power play. A night earlier, St. Cloud State scored seven power-play goals on 10 opportunities in a 12-2 victory in St. Cloud.

Timberwolves take the court

The Timberwolves play the first of four preseason games on Monday night — and the only one at Target Center. Tipoff against the New Orleans Pelicans is 7 p.m. (BSN).

U soccer routs Penn State

The Gophers women's soccer team scored twice in the first 25 minutes and handed visiting Penn State a 4-1 defeat Sunday, the Nittany Lions' worst Big Ten loss since 2004.

Senior Patricia Ward scored 10 minutes into the match, and Izzy Brown connected on a header in the 25th minute, her sixth goal of the season. McKenna Buisman made it 3-0 in the 58th minute before a Penn State own goal closed out Minnesota's scoring.

It was the highest goal total the Gophers (7-5-0, 1-4-0) had scored against Penn State, which outshot Minnesota 15-9, since 1997.

U golfers move up

The Gophers men's golf team climbed three places to a tie for eighth on Day 2 of the 12-team Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate in Sugar Grove, Ill. Gophers junior Antoine Sale, tied for third after an opening-round 4-under 68, dropped to 17th after a second-round 75. The Gophers are at 1 over, tied with Marquette and 11 strokes behind first-place Missouri.

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